In Bowers v. Andrews, the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine affirmed a declaratory judgment granting Ronald and Gail Bowers an easement by implication to use a sewer pipe running across Helen D. Andrews’s land. The properties, once part of a cottage colony with a common waste disposal system, were subdivided and sold by the Plavin Estate in 1964.
The court clarified its position on easements by implication, stating that strict necessity is not required when the grantor’s intent is proven by alternative means. Instead, the focus is on the probable intent of the parties, with necessity being a circumstance to show that intent.
The Superior Court found that the common grantor, the Plavin Estate, intended to create an easement for each grantee, based on representations made to both the Gosses (Bowers’ predecessors) and Andrews that the sewer line was available and essential to the use of the property.
The court supported this finding with three factors:
- Simultaneous marketing of properties: Implied grants are favored, especially when easements are claimed by contemporaneous conveyances.
- Permanent nature of the use: The sewer system involved physical adaptation of the premises, strengthening the inference of intent.
- Reciprocity of use: All cottages benefited from the system, indicating a mutual understanding of its necessity.
The court concluded that the easements preserving the common sewer system were created by the Plavin Estate during the 1964 subdivision.
Summary by Gemini